Tidal is a poweful, passionate, poetic piece of work, from a woman whose art, voice, and personality would seem to possess all of the aforementioned qualities as well.

From the first track, Sleep to Dream, Fiona grabs you with her strong vocals, both in their performance and their lyrics. Fiona effortlessly transitions from such passionately angry pieces as Sleep to Dream to quieter, piano-centered pieces like Sullen Girl, giving us, through voice and lyric, a musical journey through the range of emotions that make up the ebb-and-flow of a young woman's journey through romantic life (that ebb-and-flow being the inspiration of the album's name, Tidal.)

Other notable pieces are of course the quite famous Criminal, with its jazzy, self-impugning look at romantic sin; The First Taste, combining a dance beat with all of Fiona's subtle lyrical poeticism, and the perhaps underappreciated Never is a Promise, a breathtakingly beautiful, melancholy song about the limits to which one can communicate one's essence, even to those one most deeply cares about.

Fiona sings with a maturity, her lyrics reveal a depth, her music demonstrates a passion most would say was "beyond her years." To me, Fiona demonstrates clearly that popular music created by a young person (Fiona was only 18 when this was released), need not sound like the general conception of what popular music created by a young person sounds like (e.g.. the Pop Princess Cabal.) No, this is the beautiful work of a profoundly mature young artist, and it is one that you cannot afford to miss.

Fiona's voice is a distinct beauty. Her songwriting is beyond her years--powerful and honest.

I didn't like Fiona when I first heard her way back in '96 (seems like eons ago). I thought "shadowboxer" was boring. A year later I still didn't like her or her new song, "sleep to dream"--it was boring too. But I began to respect her, artistically. I knew she had talent and could sing and write very well (a combination lacking in today's music). By the end of 1997, I fell in love with her song, "sullen girl" and the rest of her album, through a friend's copy of "TIDAL".

Now "sleep to dream" is one of my favorite songs, and I also like "shadowboxer". "Sullen Girl" is a song anyone, male or female, could relate to in regards to the lyrics:'Days like this, I don't know what to do with myself . . .' Of course the song turns out to be about her rape. The rest of the album is flawless. Even the slower, less appealing tracks, "The Child is Gone", "Slow Like Honey" have a unique, beautiful sound. It's hard to pick a favorite track cuz there's so many good ones--"Never is a Promise" is a meditation on hopelessness and that familiar suicidal urge, "Criminal" is one of the best songs to hit the airwaves in years, and "The First Taste" is perfect.

Overall, this is an impressive debut. It's rare to find a young female artist who can sing AND write so well.

Right around the time Fiona Apple was garnering just as much airplay as she was accolades for "Tidal," her debut album, she also showed a knack for raising eyebrows: there was the video in her underwear, not to mention her denouncement of an MTV award as she accepted one. But for whatever maturity she lacked in public presentation was more than made up for in her music, as this lush and jazzy project proves.

The album kicks off with a bass-heavy drum lick and a husky a capella line: "I tell you how I feel but you don't care/I say tell me the truth but you don't dare/you say love is a hell you cannot bear/and I say give me mine back and then go there, for all I care." Clearly this is not the work of a producer-guided youth; Fiona is world- and love-weary beyond her years, evident in both her embittered lyrics and her husky alto. "Shadowboxer" was a loungey, sophisticated piece that nonetheless found its way to radio, and when a song like "Criminal" seemed tailor-made for radio, it was a mere coincidence; no artistic integrity spared here.

Other gems include the jazzy, Joni Mitchell-esque "Slow Like Honey," and the slinky groove of "The First Taste" (for the latter, imagine Sade with a dark side). Throughout the album Fiona further exerts her originality with arrangement; it's not every day that you hear acoustic piano and vibraphone in modern pop music. However, a trio of ballads in the second half of the album were arranged a little too similarly to have any one of them particularly stand out; a better result for listening to "Never is a Promise," "The Child is Gone," or "Pale September," while all perfectly acceptable and lovely ballads, would be to listen to them on shuffle in a multiple-disc changer.

But any complaints with "Tidal" are petty. With an album this strong, original, and just plain gorgeous, it is hard to find much fault with Fiona Apple...public antics and all.

I would just ike to star off by saying that I AM and fellow "Ear with Feet", and I have been in love with this album since the day that it was released. There is no reason for people to make unfair, harsh, comparisons to Tori. I am a huge, I mean HUGE, Tori fan, and I just don't see any common thread to compare Fiona with Tori. Sure, they both play piano, but their styles are so different. Tori has a very classical piano-playing style that is the result of playing piano since she could crawl. She also studied piano at the prestigious Peabody Institute, where she was the youngest student ever accepted. Fiona, on the other hand, is a self-taught piano-player. Fiona grew up as a major jazz fan, and taught herself piano by reading the songbooks of such famous jazz songstresses as Etta James and Billy Holiday. Their influences are far more relevant than that of Tori. In fact, when Tidal was first released, it was filed under the catagory Jazz, a catagory in which Tori most definately wouldn't be placed in (well, maybe "In the Springtime of his Voodoo", but that's another story). To make a long story short, Tori and Fiona are two very talented singer-songwriters who make music so different, they shouldn't even be compared. Tidal and When the Pawn... are two very strong recordings that are sure to stand the test of time, just like all of Tori's masterpieces. So to all of you ears with feet just like me, it's ok to like Fiona! I doubt that Tori would be angery! In fact, dosen't Tori tell us to be more accepting of others? Now if you want something to dissect and criticize, then look no further than Christianity... oops! That, too, is another story! Thanks for reading my review. I hope that I have helped in some small way to define the Tori/Fiona barrier.

Long live Tori and Fiona!

This is one of the most awe-inspiring debuts that I have ever heard in my entire life-to think that an 18-year old girl could write such lyrics and melodies makes my heart skip a beat. Fiona Apple writes and sings like she's been around for one hundred years- there is weariness and a time-honored sadness which radiates through her smoky alto and her refined, mature and simply beautiful music and lyrics. What I love most about her is that you can't dump her into a category-there aren't many artists out there like her and her music (despite what you may have heard) is unclassifiable. No doubt, Apple is in a genre all by herself. Tidal did not come out of my cd player for about a year when I first got it, and I still listen to it all the time. And every time I listen to it, I hear something new-a different nuance hidden beneath the rich layers of the music and the fantastically unique instrumentation that I hadn't heard before. It is a true pleasure to listen to it-it manages to be both emotionally stirring and relaxing at the same time. Her voice is amazing-it isn't as technically good as it is in terms of texture and emotional expression. When she sings, I believe every word she is saying-so much soul lies in her singing that every phrase comes out individually and is open for the listener's interpretation. Not only does she sing with a soul that is WAY beyond her then 18 years, but the timbre and tone of her voice itself is stunning-rich, and smoky-she can be sad, sexy, melancholic, or all these at once and more. For me, the true mark of a good singer is not how many notes they can sing, or how long they can belt out a tune for- it is how well they are able to capture the emotion of what they are singing- Fiona's got it by miles and miles. The lyrical writing on this record is some of the best I've ever heard- Fiona doesn't write songs- her songs are like poetry within music. Some have complained that her lyrics are pretentious or too metaphorical. I think that they are perfect because she finds a way to convey her emotions in a way that is not only true and real, but that sounds beautiful and poetic.

As for the music, this is one of the precious few albums that I own to which I can listen to the whole way through- as a full recording rather than a separate set of songs. True, some songs are exceptional, while others are simply good- but no one song is conspicuously worse than the other- every song is like a chapter within the album-if one song was missing the album would be incomplete. Just to make it easier, I will group the album into two categories: the "good" songs, and the "exceptional" ones. Here goes:

"Exceptional"

Criminal- I don't know how this song became a mainstream hit-it's just on a different caliber than all the other tripe that gets played on the radio. This song is dark, sexy, jazzy, and even sad if you really listen to it. "But I need to be redeemed from the one I've sinned against because he's all I ever knew of love," sings Fiona with equal measures of passion and bitterness in the song's excellent chorus. The whole song is driven and reckless- it doesn't stop to breathe for a second.

Slow like Honey- This song is amazing. It is very slow and jazzy, with some of the best lyrics that I've ever heard in a love song. "Does that scare you? I'll let you run away, but your heart will not oblige you, you'll remember me like a melody

Yeah, I'll haunt the world inside you" Fiona's voice sounds incredible in this song- it as at its most beautiful as she purrs and caresses her way through this haunting jazz ballad. The accompanying music is rich and mysterious, Fiona's piano-playing adding a lovely extravagance to the whole thing.

The First Taste- This song is the most experimental on the record- it has a funky beat and some very unique instrumentation. The melody is beautiful, sort of Spanish style and the lyrics are pure poetry."I lie in an early bed, thinking late thoughts, waiting for the black to replace my blue, I do not struggle in your web because it was my aim to get caught, but daddy longlegs I feel, that I'm finally growing weary, of waiting to be consumed by you, give me the first taste." Her voice is soft, and completely entrancing.

Never Is a Promise- This is one of the most perfectly written songs that I've ever heard. And it's even better live. The arrangements are simple but beautiful-Fiona on her piano and a lovely string arrangement accompanying her. Her voice is filled with so much emotion, she sounds as if she will cry any moment. "But as the scenery grows I see in different lights; the shades and shadows undulate in my perception, my feelings swell and stretch, I see from greater heights, I understand what I am still to proud to mention...to you." This song quietly builds up its intensity until it swells to a most beautiful, but very subtle climax towards the end of the song. Throughout the chorus, Fiona sings in a very high-pitched voice, making her sound almost childlike. This however, works perfectly with the song, as it adds to the vulnerability and fragility of the recording. Never is a Promise is a genius piece of songwriting straight from Apple's heart- I get shivers down my spine each time I listen to it.

Carrion- This is the perfect closing track- its mood and music end the album on the perfect note- melancholic, but hopeful. "My feel for you boy, is decaying in front of me, like the carrion of a murdered pray, and all I want is to save you honey, or the strength to walk away," Fiona sings in the song's intense and driven chorus, with a very effective, but subtle use of electric guitars. The distinct contrast between the chorus and the verses works very well- the verses are very quiet and all the emotion seems to be concealed, until Fiona lets it all out in the song's emotional chorus. Her voice is again not doing very much, but manages to sound amazing. Each time she repeats the chorus, she says it with more and more conviction and intensity.

I won't go into details about the "Good" songs-if you like the exceptional recordings that I have discussed above, you will for sure enjoy the remaining songs on the album- all of which are superb in their own right, but not "classics" such as the ones I have mentioned here. I love this album, and I love listening to it because it is so honest and pure and beautiful. While her follow-up album was excellent and in no way inferior to "Tidal," I prefer her debut because there was a certain rough and unpolished quality to the music, the singing, and the instrumentation. While Fiona certainly needs to come out with a new set of music, sometimes I feel that it's better if she doesn't- I fear that it won't match her past efforts because this minute musical legacy that she has created here is certainly hard, if not impossible when you consider that both her debut and her sophomore effort were amazing. And if she never does, that's disappointing, but forgivable- I will forever think of her as an original artist with a smoky, deeply penetrating voice that wrote those heartfelt, poetic lyrics and rich, gorgeous melodies.